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I’d like to start this post with a caveat; my motives for this quest and even chronicling it on my blog are simply for archival purposes. A goal of this magnitude, at least for me, is daunting, and trying to capture which books I read and when is daunting as well. So I apologize if my posts, or even sharing this journey comes across like grandstanding. This is certainly not my goal.

I get asked a lot in my ministry about which books to read and to turn to for wisdom or advice, honestly, it just makes sense having this blog to point them to, not out of need for clicks, but more out of need for convenience and archival purposes.

So, I hope the spirit and sincerity behind these posts is felt and that in some small way, if you happen to stumble upon this blog and like it, that you’ll be blessed as well.

Week 2 of my 100 Book Wisdom Quest Challenge brings 2 interesting titles to the mix and both related to coaching.

1. “Uncommon – Finding Your Path to Significance” by Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker– With the distinction of only 1 of 3 players to win a Super Bowl both as a player and a coach, Tony Dungy (with Nathan Whitaker) delivers a book jammed pack with wisdom from a player’s perspective and a coach based on his Christian values. You can tell he truly put his heart and soul into this book being at times very transparent about some of the challenges of maintaining his Christian faith through some serious hardships, not the least of which was the suicide by his 18-year-old son Jamie.

Tony’s integrity and sportsmanship shine through this book and reads like one huge book packed with advice for teenagers to adult men, from professionals to those just striving to be good, upstanding Christians. I have a great appreciation for men like Tony who can survive the world of professional sports with his integrity still intact. This book was extremely encouraging and insightful and would be an excellent read for fathers AND sons to read to emphasize how vital it is we live an “uncommon” life of honor and integrity in a world where it appears they’re in short supply.

From this very memorable acrostic AWE, Michael expands his all-important question to include variations on the question to avoid sounding too mechanical and repetitious, and follows this up with a total of 7 important questions keying into such questions such as, “What’s the biggest challenge you see?” Or, driving it even closer to home, “What’s the biggest challenge FOR YOU here?”

Easily one of my favorite books so far, I will personally be drawing from this wisdom for many years to come. The major theme throughout is helping people discover solutions to their own situations while also guiding them to do so without dismissing your leadership.

As with virtually every endeavor that we start at the new year we dive in like “gang-busters” I have done just that with my 2017 100 Book Challenge. As of this post I have completed 3 books.

#1 – “Praying Hyde” by Captain E.G. Carre – This book left me desiring a deeper prayer life than ever before. John Hyde enveloped a lifestyle of prayer that left him in what seemed to be a constant conversation with the Lord. A missionary to India, he desired above all else souls, “lest he die.” At one point in his ministry he prayed to win a soul a day which God indeed honored. A year later John asked for double that. And yet another year later, 4 souls a day; and each time God honored his request. He prayed so strongly and so intensely, he developed a rare condition that literally caused his heart to relocate from the left side of his chest to just right of center. He embodied a life of a true intercessor. This book will highly motivate you to pray deeper and believe God for more answered prayer than ever before.

#2 – “Influencer – The New Science of Leading Change” by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, David Maxfiled, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler – We too often underestimate the power of influence. Not only that, we miss opportunities to influence on many levels. Some assume influence is only about acting a certain way to elicit a certain response, but it’s so much more than that. Those seeking to influence change in their organizations, businesses, teams, churches, or even families will greatly benefit from this insightful and research-rich book. It is teeming with valuable and relevant data from a variety of well respected researchers. It can be used as a manual for both personal growth or even organizational and team growth. It’s more than theoretical, this is a practical guide for influencing the change you desire in your area of leadership. The authors have a successful training and consultant business called Vital Smarts. Their website and YouTube Channel offer a wealth of information for free.

#3 – “H3 Leadership – Be Humble, Stay Hungry, Always Hustle” by Brad Lomenick – If there’s one book you read this year on leadership this book is a must. Brad Lomenick is an encyclopedia of leadership knowledge and experience. Written from a very experiential perspective, and very transparent, Brad uses his highs and lows of leadership as the CEO of Catalyst. Driven by a near breakdown to take a sabbatical, Brad reveals truths from a variety of subject matter experts. Get your highlighter and notebook ready, this book will overwhelm you with leadership ideas that will “catalyze” you as a leader, and a balanced one at that. Personally, as a pastor, mentor, and leader of missions in Europe, I will be utilizing the tools shared in this book with my teams.

I am on a quest for wisdom in 2017 and have elected to set a goal of reading 100 books by the end of this year. Originally I set a goal of 52 books, for 1 per week, but I believe in stretching myself. This quest will take me down roads I have never traveled. I am not going to be random in my selection of books and have enlisted the aid of my friends on Facebook for recommendations, but will welcome recommendations from readers of this blog…if there are any.

True goals should stretch us just enough without snapping and breaking us!

I am going keep a running list on this blog of the titles I have read mostly as a way for me to catalog and track my progress and if my time permits, I will record my thoughts about each title with short reviews.

For supporters that wish to leave words of encouragement, or even recommendations, feel free to post below! Thanks and God bless!